The Alpha King's Curse: Part One

***SOME SPOILERS*** I kept seeing ads on TikTok or Instagram, I think, that I just couldn’t stop thinking about. It was too expensive on the reading apps that advertised, so I found and bought it here. What I will say is that the author is a great writer, I like the style and voice of their writing, and they do a great job of character and world building. The romance in this is captivating. My three stars comes in at this: the romance is few and far between, most of it unwarranted by literally anything else besides the “mate bond”, and I often wondered if the characters and world they were building were even worth investing in as a reader. This book is full of both verbal and physical abuse, at the hands of the “love interest” AND his entire clan. There are so many crimes committed against, and crudely justified to, this poor MC. I often hoped there would be a heartwarming trade off coming for her, that it would all be for something; but the longer the book went on, that hope turned from rooting for them to against them. I sincerely hoped that she would free herself and disconnect from this deranged community. Instead, she develops Stockholm syndrome and sympathizes with them all. Then she saves them the trouble of abusing her, and puts her own life in danger multiple times in a row to protect them. I fully understand the concepts of werewolf customs, the mate bond, the alpha responsibilities and so on… I’m still new to these werewolf stories, but they all do a thorough job of explaining that. So maybe it’s just part of the genre, and I should expect it. I know it can get a little bad in the beginning, on account of their inherent animalistic nature and aptitude for rejecting all affection; but this is the worst I’ve ever read it, so far. And if you’re like me and you didn’t expect it, if you have any traumas that could be triggered by extreme and continued violence, PLEASE be aware! I finished the whole book in two days, because I was determined to reach the end just to see her in a better place. I guess I’m too used to typical novels that have the complete Freytag’s triangle and some resemblance of a resolution. This book is more like a comic book, with a “to be continued” kind of ending. This book is unkind to both the MC and the reader, and that’s the only solidarity you’ll get from this unrelenting author.

This book kept me up at night reading when I should be sleeping. Exciting, had me on edge.